Young people's ability to navigate the Internet can be summed up in one word: bleak.

How gameable recommendation systems mislead customers about health information.

Mediated vs. unmediated experience as a driver of fake-news and related phenomena

L ike most librarians, I teach one-shot instruction sessions for numerous departments across campus on myriad topics. Fortunately, most faculty give me the entire class period to go over research techniques and evaluating sources. Prior to 2017, my discussion around evaluating sources happened towards the end of the class period, after I had demoed a few databases and searched the library catalog. This worked until it didn’t anymore. After the 2017 presidential inauguration, faculty and students returned to a more complex classroom climate, accentuated by tension, fear, and sadness.

This study presents three perspectives on the subject of information literacy skills in academia by examining the perceptions of students, teaching faculty, and librarians. Information literacy (sometime referred to as critical thinking or research skills) has become a crucial set of skills in academic work since developments in informational and technological environments have given students access to vast amounts of information that is often unsupported, unfiltered, and unreliable. Data collected from 32 semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings show that students felt that they lacked adequate information literacy skills, did not receive sufficient help from the faculty, and were unaware of the resources and services the library offered. Professors, however, considered such skills important and expected students to obtain them during their studies. The library staff were aware of students’ difficulties in acquiring these skills and have made efforts to develop programs to remedy the situation. However, these programs were not always successful due to a lack of awareness by students, and the incompatibility of such programs with their needs and the expectations of their instructors. By contrasting the views, needs and expectations of the three populations studied, findings from the study show that greater collaboration and communication between faculty, librarians, and students is needed to improve students’ information literacy skills. The study also provides the LIS field with an outline of an 'ideal' information literacy training for students as it is reflected in the combined views of the participated populations.

I’m currently working with a section of American Literature/Composition students who have been asked to look at a historical or current event that embodies a degree of hysteria or abuse of po…

Can you just show them the databases?  This is a phrase I’ve heard a lot as an instruction librarian. I’ve thought about it, and the answer is no.  I cannot just show them the databases. I cannot &…

Digital Media + Learning: The Power of Participation

Screencasting: they're doing it right.

Open Access (OA) is usually associated with academic scholarship and its relationship to the “paywall” by proponents and critics alike. It is essential to consider the question of OA not only in terms of its impact on publishers and scholars, but in terms of its teaching and learning potential for students and educators.

Many librarians have embraced the use of active learning in their teaching. Moving away from lectures and toward activities that get students using the skills they’re learning can lead to more meaningful learning experiences. It’s one thing to tell someone how to do something, but to have them actually do it themselves, with expert guidance, … Continue reading The Guide on the Side →

I’m putting together a workshop tomorrow for teaching librarians about good research assignments — so I went looking to see what else has been written on the topic. I found lots of good…